“I’m going out for a smoke, you want one?” I shook my head.
“Of course, you don’t.God,Quincey, I thought you’d be a little more fun.” He chuckled to himself before ambling outside.In the quiet reprieve, I pulled out my phone, once again smiling down at the messages.
Quincey: I am absolutely fucking starving.
Spawn of Satan: What are you having for dinner?
Quincey: Jude brought us to a bar instead. Save me some gummy worms? <3
Spawn of Satan: Are you saying that asshole didn’t take you to dinner?
Spawn of Satan: Want me to come get you?
Quincey: No, it’s okay. I am going to leave soon.
Spawn of Satan: Frank’s will be here when you get home.
Quincey: Now that’s my idea of a good time.
Jude stumbled back in after what felt like the world’s longest smoke break. I was pissed off, hungry, and after everything I’d been through over the last few months, I had no interest in sitting there a moment longer than I had to. Jude dropped into the seat next to me, spilling part of his drink onto the girl at the table next to us. She shot me a sympathetic look before turning away.
“I’m gonna get you a drink,” Jude told me a little more forcefully than I was expecting. Whether it was an attempt at being charming, I wasn’t sure. But I didn’t feel charmed at all. I felt violated, used, and, quite frankly, a little disgusted. Nothing in the world, not even the contents of his father’s bank account, could have kept me sitting there a moment longer.
“Actually, I’m going to get going.” I smiled. “I have to see my grandparents tomorrow anyway.”
He rolled his eyes so far back into his head, his pupils temporarily disappeared. “You used that excuse last time.”
Okay, fuckhead, now you are really starting to annoy me.
“It’s not an excuse.” And that’s all I said. I didn’t have to explain myself to him. I didn’t have to give him the play-by-play of my life just to justify wanting to go home.
Jude pulled on his jacket from where it was strewn over the back of a chair before stumbling into a standing position. “Okay…fine,” he slurred over his words slightly. “I’ll take you home.”
I took a step back from him. “I’m going to get a cab. You’ve been drinking.”
“Oh, come on, three whiskeys is barely drinking. Let’s go back to mine, I’ll order you sushi.”
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice?Well, that would make me a fucking fool.
“No, honestly, I’m going to go home.”
“I don’t know why you’re being like this,” he bit out, looking around as if the thought of being with me was embarrassing.
I stalked out of the bar, letting the cold night air sober me to what was a painful waste of a Friday night. We were on the busier side of town, just before the end of the night, where lots of people were pooling onto the streets, laughing and yelling and doing whatever it is drunk people do. I could hear Jude stumble out after me, muttering all kinds of nonsense under his breath.
He called out to me once, and I stopped. Not for him, not to give him a second chance, but to get this over with so I never had to speak to him again.
“Quincey, Jesus,” he grunted as he caught up to me. “Sorry if you weren’t enjoying yourself. This kind of fun isn’t for everyone, I get that. Maybe we could?—”
“We could what, Jude?” I snapped a little tooaggressively as I looked him up and down.God,he was a mess. “Go back to your place? And then what? Have the most disappointing sex of my life?”
The alcohol seemed to kick into action far before his brain did. “It’s just one drink, Quincey. Don’t be so dramatic…or full of yourself. I’m not trying to take advantage of you or whatever.”
I didn’t dignify his comment with a response. I just turned to walk away from him, but I felt him stumble forward before grabbing my arm. And everything in my body jolted. All the memories ofThe Boardroom Butcherflooded my brain, the nausea turning my stomach in knots. The contact was triggering, jarring, and the wave of white-hot anger that flashed through me was unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
“Don’t fucking touch me, don’t you fucking touch me,” I snarled loud enough for a large group of people who were just walking by to stop and stare. “Don’t contact me again.”
My breathing became short and sharp, and I pinned my hands to my sides to prevent them from shaking. One of the girls called out to make sure I was okay. I just nodded before walking over to the cab rank and catching a ride home.
